


They're Here

by noroadstaken



Series: The Adventures of Anne & Will [5]
Category: & Juliet - Martin/West Read
Genre: Angst, Anne needs a hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, This is very sad I'm sorry, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23327779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noroadstaken/pseuds/noroadstaken
Summary: Anne's parents turn up when she's home alone.Continuation of"No Second Chances"by nimara
Relationships: Anne Hathaway Shakespeare/William Shakespeare
Series: The Adventures of Anne & Will [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672639
Kudos: 6





	They're Here

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING'S FOR PAST/MENTIONED CHILD ABUSE**
> 
> The other night me and my friend (who wrote the fic this is a continuation of) messaged each other for an hour discussing this and I obviously turned it into a fic. The abuse Anne and Romeo went through isn't explicitly stated, but it's referenced and the whole thing is about Anne's reaction to her parents.

Anne was finally getting better after the altercation with her parents. The bruises had faded, the kids and Will had been nothing but supportive and loving since that night and Anne was slowly starting to realise that nothing bad was going to happen to her while they were around.

That’s where she was wrong.

Two weeks after she went to see them, a loud banging on the front door disturbed Anne one afternoon when she was alone in the house (Will was at a meeting and the kids were out visiting Angelique and Lance). Anne’s mind immediately flashed back to a time when she was young, her father pounding on the wall beside her head, spit flying in her face as he screamed at her for the smallest thing.

“Anne!”

The same voice shouted from outside and Anne froze, her eyes wide. She managed to shakily carry herself to the living room window where she saw her parent’s car in the driveway.

A feeling of dread flooded Anne’s body. She couldn’t understand how they were here, how they found out where she lived. Anne hadn’t told them, she never would for fear of them turning up like they had today when her and Will weren’t around and hurting one of the children. Not knowing what else to do, Anne sprinted up the stairs and locked herself in the bathroom, grateful she remembered to pick up her phone on the way there.

Trembling fingers managed to call the number of the one person she desperately needed right now.

“Anne?”

“Will, they’re- I can’t do anything. Please.” Anne couldn’t speak. She prayed that Will could understand what she was trying to say.

“Anne, are you okay?” Will could hear the fear in his wife’s voice, and he tried not to instantly imagine the worst.

“They’re here.” Anne eventually managed to choke out. Silence fell on the other end of the phone.

“Stay where you are. I’m coming as fast as I can.”

Anne didn’t know how long she was sat on the floor, curled up underneath the sink with tears dripping down her face. Will stayed on the phone with her the entire time, murmuring words of support and love while he broke every speeding law out there to get home, but she never heard anything he said. All she wanted was him to get to him as soon as possible.

“Anne?”

The front door opened, and Anne heard the voice she’d been longing for. She wanted to call out to him, but she couldn’t, even though she knew logically that her parents would no longer be there now Will was, her brain still ran through the worst scenarios.

Will eventually found her in the same position she was when she called him, shaking and hiding in the smallest corner possible. He had to pick the lock to get into the bathroom, Anne was too afraid to move.

“I’m here, Anne. It’s me.” Will said, sitting on the floor as close as he could. Anne immediately scrambled out and launched herself at him, sobbing into his neck. “They’re gone. I’ve got you.”

They sat like that for a while, Anne sobbing into Will’s neck and Will stroking her hair and whispering words of love and support. Will’s heart broke at seeing his wife so terrified and fragile. She was usually a firecracker, fierce and independent and not afraid to speak her mind, but her parents had reduced her to someone who couldn’t even speak to her own husband. He hated them for it, and if it wasn’t the thought of Anne alone in the house he would’ve gone after them when they ran away at the sight of him.

“Mum! Dad! We’re home!” Judith’s called out a little while later a herself, Susanna and Romeo arrived home, the other three staying at Angelique and Lance’s overnight.

“Up here!” Will called back. He didn’t want to leave Anne in her current state.

The three kids reached the bathroom to see Will cradling a crying Anne in his arms. Anne looked up at them, tears staining her cheeks, and Romeo instantly knew what had happened.

“Can you tell them?” Will motioned to Judith and Susanna, who were watching their parents with wide eyes. Romeo nodded and ushered the two women out of the room.

“What’s wrong with mum?” Susanna demanded.

“Her parents must’ve turned up.” Romeo explained, and Judith gripped her sister’s hand. “I know that look in her eyes.”

“Did they hurt her?” Judith asked, her voice small.

“She didn’t look injured, but I don’t know.” Romeo said. The girls nodded and the three moved back into the bathroom, immediately joining their parents on the floor in one giant hug.

All five of them stayed there for longer than any of the realised. Judith curled herself into her dad’s free side, Susanna next to her and also gripping her mother’s hand. Romeo wrapped himself at Anne’s side, letting her know that he understood and that she wasn’t alone.

“I’m sorry I made you miss your meeting.” Anne whispered, eventually. Will wanted to cry, she’d been through hell today and that was the one thing she was worried about.

“Anne Hathaway, I love you more than life itself.” Will told her, running the hand that was wrapped around her up and down her arm. “I can write endless plays. I can write plays for days, but there will never be another, Anne Hathaway.”

Anne smiled and let out a small laugh at his words, and Will was so thankful to see her brighten up a little. Wrapped up in Will’s arms, with three of their children around them, Anne had never felt so safe and loved.


End file.
